


Northern Lights

by DREAMi_Girl



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, F/M, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4524180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DREAMi_Girl/pseuds/DREAMi_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the youngest prince of the Northern kingdom runs away from his wedding, the eldest prince Joonmyeon is forced to take his place to maintain peace between the Nothern and Western Kingdoms. But his new husband is nothing less than intimidating and Joonmyeon can't help but wonder how a marriage between them will work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Northern Lights

**Chapter One**

 

Do Young was the member of the Royal Council who grates on Joonmyeon's

nerves every time their paths cross. A short, squat man, Adviser Do only reached

Joonmyeon's shoulders and shuffled around the meeting room at a speed that

seemed the norm for all of the prissy, short men of the world who had nothing

better to do than nag people for the tiniest details. Every time his bulging,

bloodshot eyes focused in his direction, Joonmyeon was forced to swallow down

the revolted expression that was in danger of twisting his face.

 

It was unbecoming of a prince to make such a face.

 

Instead, his Royal Highness, Prince Kim Joonmyeon, first born son to the rulers of

the Northern Kingdom, bearer of the formal title Suho (a real guardian, his

brothers teased) – and the unfortunate recipient of attention from annoying, little

men – pasted a polite look of interest on as he faced Adviser Do and promptly

tuned him out, focusing his gaze instead over the man's shoulder.

 

Do Kyungsoo, son of the adviser in question, felt the prince's eyes staring at him

and lifted his head to meet them, smirking knowingly.

 

Joonmyeon's smile turned a bit rueful.

 

He and Kyungsoo got along much better than the prince did with the old adviser

and Joonmyeon was impatient for the day when Kyungsoo inherited his father's

position.

 

Or at least, he had been until that morning.

 

In one week's time, Joonmyeon would find himself married off and no longer

eligible for the throne, a position he had spent his entire life training for.

 

He was admittedly miffed about the face and harbored an ounce of resentment

towards his youngest brother, Jongin, for saddling him with this situation.

 

For the past twenty years, Jongin had been promised to marry the ruler of the

Western lands, a very modern movement and a marriage designed to ensure

peace between the lands and the continuation of their nations' treaty.

 

Jongin, however, had eloped the night before with the son of a Lord. Lee Taemin

had been a good friend of the youngest prince for years, but no one had ever

suspected a deeper relationship between them. Or that Jongin would refuse a

marriage to his betrothed, given that they had been close since birth, a

relationship encouraged by everyone to bring them closer for marriage.

 

A marriage which would no longer occur.

 

Though generally a passive ruler when it came to foreign affairs with friends,

Huang Zitao, lone ruler of the Western Kingdom, had demanded recompense for

the breaking of the marriage pact in the form of the eldest prince – Joonmyeon, in

other words.

 

The prince in question felt his eyebrows twitch as Kyungsoo started making faces

at him over his father's shoulder, both of the younger men ignoring Adviser Do's

rant about how irresponsible and foolish Jongin was for running off with a man of

such low rank (in the line of nobility that is).

 

An undignified snort threatened to burst from him and Joonmyeon hastily tore his

eyes away from a smug Kyungsoo before the younger man could reduce him to

uncontrollable giggles.

 

The prince cleared his throat quietly but clearly, cutting off Adviser Do's rambling.

 

"Adviser Do," Joonmyeon sighed. "I believe that everyone is aware of the

consequences of Jongin's actions and how foolishly he acted, but what's done is

done. Jongin and Taemin are no where to be found and Zitao is already aware of

their relationship, so we must put aside their chastisement in order to focus on

preparing for the wedding and renewal of the treaty. And someone should

increase Jongdae's lessons since all this is being left to him now." He finished with

a frown, his overly formal tone dropping a bit at the mention of his other brother.

 

Jongdae was the second eldest prince and also conveniently missing in action -

though this was a common occurrence as the prankster prince often disappeared

before returning with a load of trouble following after him.

 

"Your Highness –" Adviser Do began sputtering, face turning an interesting shade

of purple at the subtle scolding, but Joonmyeon was finished dealing with him.

 

"Kyungsoo-ssi," the prince called, rising from his seat at the meeting room's

conference table. "Accompany me back to my chambers. I, uh, have some papers

that need delivering." He threw a pleading look towards his friend.

 

Joonmyeon swept from the room without looking back and his would-be adviser

fell into step a pace behind him a moment later.

 

"Well, if the only good thing that comes from this is getting rid of Father's

nagging, I expect you'll be happy about that much." Kyungsoo teased once they

reached a decent length away from the meeting room.

 

Joonmyeon laughed, shoulders dropping and his stern expression melting into one

of tired amusement. "I can't say you're wrong. How would you feel about moving

to the West with me? Good advice is something you need whether you're going to

be king or not."

 

"Should I find some resignation forms then?" Kyungsoo grinned, playing along.

"Hide in your trunk when you move? Might be hard to find room with all those

DBSK CDs and dolls in the way."

 

Joonmyeon turned back to reply to his companion, who had been elevated from

employee to friend given the situation, and promptly crashed into an unfamiliar

form as they turned the corner to the prince's personal hall.

 

Large hands caught the prince before he could hit the floor, pulling him close to

their owner, and Joonmyeon found himself staring at a pair of thinnish lips pressed

so tightly into a frown that they were in danger of disappearing.

 

"Prince Joonmyeon," the stranger huffed, tone snappish to make both Joonmyeon

and Kyungsoo bristle automatically. "You should watch where you're going. Not

everyone is going to catch you when you're being so careless of your

surroundings."

 

The prince felt his ears grow hot, blood rushing to his face.

 

"As these are my quarters," Joonmyeon stressed hotly, face flushed with anger.

"The only ones allowed on this hall are me and my servants – all of which know

not to turn corners without looking around them first."

 

"Stopping to stick their head around the wall, how ridiculous." The stranger rolled

his eyes, straightening his back and revealing that he towered over both of the

other men. "I think you should learn to walk on the other side of the hall instead

of close to the inner corner - so people can see you and avoid running you down.

You're short - I can see it happening."

 

Joonmyeon's head was nearly spinning with indignation and he stepped very

purposefully on the stranger's toes, both crushing the digits with his entire weight

and scuffing the shiny leather as he did so.

 

The stranger's brow scrunched with pain, nearly hidden by the crimson colored bangs that fell over them, but he made a point to squeeze the prince

even more tightly for a moment before letting go.

 

'it hurt but i'm still the stronger one here and i'm letting you go because i want to

not because of anything you did'

 

"I suggest you leave before the guards get here." Joonmyeon snapped, the

corners of his mouth turned down. "Or else I may shoot you myself."

 

"And become a widow even before our wedding?" The stranger quirked a brow,

lips twitching upwards slightly. "How disappointing for you. In that case... I'll take

your advice."

 

He made a show of looking over the prince's ruffled form and suddenly pale face

before brushing past Kyungsoo and heading for the main hall.

 

The prince and his acquaintance held their breath until he disappeared from sight,

Joonmyeon catching sight of a striking tattoo on the taller man's neck just as he

rounded the corner and out of their sight.

 

A familiar symbol – a Z and a T layered over one another to form the personalized

mark of the ruler of the western lands.

 

Zitao.

 

 

 

Luck did not smile upon Joonmyeon that day.

 

What with his brother eloping, being shunted into an unexpected marriage,

butting heads with the one he was _getting married to_... it was a wonder that

Joonmyeon had energy left to feel surprised about anything.

 

Jongdae, though, could always be counted upon to reach into his brother's

reserves and pull out the backup specially reserved for their interactions.

 

"Hey, hyung~!" the middle prince sang, grinning at his brother. "Look at what

your hubby left for you. She's a wedding gift."

 

"It's a bird."

 

And so it was.

 

With less plumage than her male counterpart, the peacock, the bird looked

rather small in the basket on Jongdae's lap, her white feathers standing out

against the darker blanket that lined the sides of the wicker container. Her head

turned curiously to the newcomers, the crest atop her head giving her an

appearance of royalty. Her attitude matched, as she quickly dismissed Kyungsoo

and Joonmyeon as being of no interest to her, and turned away, resting her chin

in Jongdae's hands for more chin rubs.

 

"It's a funny sort of gift, isn't it?" The younger prince grinned, happy to tease his

brother as always, catlike grin in place. But Jongdae's hands were gentle as he

tugged Joonmyeon down to sit with him on the couch, waving cheekily at

Kyungsoo as the youngest of their trio flopped on the settee "The card said that

giving the 'bride' a peacock ("Girls are called peahens, Dae.") is a family tradition

for his family. Most families just give geese, I think."

 

"She's pretty," Joonmyeon murmured, watching the bird relax beneath gentle

caresses. "... did you meet Zitao?"

 

"Yep!" Jongdae hummed, popping his 'p' and lounging against his brother. "Pretty

quiet kid. Lot's of earrings. I heard he does martial arts – Jonginnie told me – so he probably has a lot of _stamina_. Aren't you lucky?" The younger prince wiggled

his eyebrows at Joonmyeon, a suggestive lilt to his voice.

 

Joonmyeon hit him across the face with a throw pillow.

 

"He's a jerk." He huffed. "Jerk, jerk, _jerk_!" He emphasized each word by bopping

Jongdae over the head with his pillow.

 

Kyungsoo nearly toppled over the side of the settee from the force of his giggles.

 

The bird, ruffled by the commotion around her, let out a disgruntled squawk and

removed herself from the basket, spreading her wings out as she went and

clipping both of the princes in the face with her tail feathers.

 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae were left wearing identical looks of annoyance.

 

Kyungsoo fell off the settee.

It wasn't until much later that night that Joonmyeon managed to find himself a

moment to sit down again.

 

Before the rearrangement of the princes' engagements, Joonmyeon spent most of

his days at his parents' sides, learning to take over the throne from them, or out

for publicity and charity events – the things that generally came with being a

prince. For the rest of the week, rather than seeing to any royal affairs, he was

being shuttled from suit fittings to stylists to his mother's office to get everything

ready for the upcoming wedding.

 

Everything that had been chosen to suit Jongin's tastes, from flower preference to

color coding to cake flavor – it all had to be altered to fit the eldest brother

instead.

 

Joonmyeon would have been content to just get his suit made and go with what

had been bought for his brother, but the queen insisted on putting her eldest

son's touch into the wedding.

 

"It may be a marriage for political stability," she had said rather quietly, looking as

if she would shove the wedding catalog down her child's throat for even

suggesting such a thing. "But you are going to have your favorite flowers and

were a suit in your favorite color and you are going to eat the cake you like and

you are going to enjoy these things at least... right, my son?"

 

Joonmyeon had stuttered out a squeaky affirmative and ran away after his father,

the king having the sense to escape his wife's reach before she could cause either

of them any lasting damage.

 

The prince sank slowly onto the couch he and his brother had occupied earlier

that day, the pain in his feet all the more evident once he pulled his weight from

them.

 

The peahen, named Candy as the tag on the side of the basket had told them,

perched on top of his dresser, feathers fluffed as she dozed peacefully.

 

Joonmyeon tipped his head back, finally alone with his thoughts.

 

He had been totally compliant with the sudden demand of marriage ever since the

news of Jongin's eloping reached the maids' gossip chain, whispers of the

youngest prince running off with a lesser noble and only leaving a note for his

family and would-be husband, enraging the Western Kingdom's ruler and leading

to a new marriage arrangement to the eldest prince.

 

It was an obligation Joonmyeon couldn't escape for fear of bringing down an ill

fate upon his kingdom and his people.

 

But to say he was completely fine with the situation would be a lie.

 

He was angry with his brother for being selfish and irresponsible, putting himself

before the fate of an entire nation. The North and the West could have very well

gone to war over a broken promise had there not been another prince to fill the

empty space.

 

He was angry, but Joonmyeon could at least understand why his brother would

run off, even if he couldn't approve of the actions.

 

Joonmyeon had been raised to rule. Jongin had been raised to be a peace

offering.

 

The eldest prince was also angry with his fiancee for demanding _his_ hand in

marriage instead of Jongdae's.

 

A lifetime of training and preparation gone to waste and the kingdom would be left

in the hands of a ruler who was more often than not off somewhere setting up a

prank and who forgot his wallet on the purchase counter at a store.

 

Jongdae being the future king was the idea that caused Joonmyeon the most

anxiety.

 

Still, their mother could always be counted upon to whip him into shape.

 

Literally.

 

The most pressing problem, however, was one, Huang Zitao.

 

Joonmyeon had met Zitao twice before, once earlier that day and once long ago

when they were children.

 

Due to the encouragement for Jongin and Zitao to spend all their time together

whenever the royals got together to work out politics, a move designed to set a

base relationship for a healthy marriage, the two often played together with

another pair of friends from their age group, Oh Sehun and a slightly older girl

named Victoria. The bond obviously didn't take as well as their families had

hoped.

 

Joonmyeon didn't play with his youngest brother often, the slight age gap creating

a lack of interest in their games, and only ran across their little quartet on the rare

occasions when he was out of lessons or on his way to meet friends of his own.

He'd seen Victoria plenty of times, and often encountered Sehun as they grew up,

but Zitao had somehow managed to avoid running across the eldest prince's path

after their initial meeting.

 

The Zitao that Joonmyeon vaguely remembered was a little boy with terrible,

buzz cut hair and chubby cheeks, clinging to Jongin and Sehun even though they

were younger, and who looked at Joonmyeon like the prince was the one who

hung the moon and stars in the sky.

 

An adoration which didn't carry over into adulthood, so it seemed.

 

Arrogant, rude, presumptuous... Joonmyeon bemoaned the fact that he got settled

with such a husband.

 

How could a marriage between them possibly work out?

 

Joonmyeon breathed deeply, letting his shoulders drop and turned his head to rub

his cheek against the fabric of the couch, trying to get comfortable and clear his

mind. Fretting about relationships and brothers and the future of the kingdom

could wait a night longer.

 

At some point, he drifted off into a light sleep, slipping from his seated position to

slump against the arm of the couch.

 

Warm, strong hands slipped behind his shoulders, pulling him forward so he

would be easier to maneuver. Joonmyeon found himself being scooped into a pair

of sturdy arms, lifting him carefully from the couch to rest against a broad chest.

 

The prince was too tired to open his eyes completely and barely managed to open

them long enough to peer through his lashes at the person carrying him, briefly

focusing on a shock of bright red and a familiar symbol emblazoned on dark skin.

 

The blankets were pulled over his shoulders, warmth engulfing him, and the

prince's eyes drifted shut once more against his will.

 

A puff of hot air ruffled his hair and warmth rushed through Joonmyeon as a pair

of soft lips were pressed against his cheek.

 

He barely had the chance to register the action before he was falling back into the

arms of unconsciousness.

 


End file.
